I learnt much more in 3 days of shooting than from my 3-month-long acting course

Veteran director Fazil’s youngest son Farhaan has stepped into films and he is happy to have made his debut in a Rajeev Ravi film. Farhaan talks about his maiden venture, acting with new faces, preparations for his brother and actor Fahadh’s wedding and more.
Excerpts:
You have done an acting course. How did the training help you in your debut film project? I learnt much more in three days of shooting than from my three-month-long acting course.I’m a shy person, and the training helped me to come out of my shell. I couldn’t have asked for a better debut. Doing a film is a different ball game altogether; I personally believe I will be able to learn a lot more when I assist a filmmaker.
Tell us about your experience working with Rajeev Ravi What surprised me the most about the film was that, from the director to the editor, all are producers. This was a team effort. I never knew a film could be made with a shoestring budget. It was a good team with no ego clashes at all. There was this scene where I had to shoot in front of a crowd. After shooting indoors for several days it was not easy for me to shoot outdoors. I was scared, but Rajeevettan made it look very simple.
Do you share any personality traits with Steve? Steve and I share no personality traits. The only thing common between us is that we are not expressive. The upbringing of Steve and the way the two of us think are totally different. I am not down to earth like Steve, but like him I am also shabby and have a habit of wearing clothes without ironing them.
The film had a bunch of fresh faces. Did you enjoy working with them? Ahaana (Krishna) and a few others were new to films, but the rest of the cast had a theatre background. I used to ask Allen chettan (who played Steve’s father) doubts, and he used to help me out. I enjoyed the most working with Anil (Kochachan), he is fun to be with. When I first met Ahaana, she wasn’t interested in acting in the film. After two days, we started talking. In fact, Ahaana loves to talk and we got familiar with each other. Soon we became good friends.
Like Steve, will you propose to someone directly? I am very happy it is not a commercial film and the treatment is very realistic. There is teenage love shown in the film, but if you ask me, in real life it is totally different. I will never take the chance of proposing to someone directly; I will play it safe, on mobile or via email. So that even if the answer is no, I won’t be embarrassed.
Were you tensed about being compared with Fahadh Faasil? Initially, I was a bit scared that I will be compared with him as Fahadh is doing similar kind of projects. The biggest compliment I received post the release is, ‘now you’ll be known as Farhaan; you will no more be tagged as Fahadh’s brother.’
Did you do any preparations for the role? I had asked Rajeevettan if I could do an audition, but he was confident about me. He just asked me to grow my hair. My upbringing is different from Steve, so I was asked to tone down a bit. He did not allow me to do any homework either. I used to ask Rajeevettan the script for the next day, and he used to say, ‘I like spontaneity.’
Were you always passionate about films? My love for films started at a young age. I used to visit film sets with my father. I will watch the whole process sitting on his lap. I used to visit Fahadh on film sets too. When my passion for film dies, I will quit the field.
Are you planning any surprises for your brother’s wedding? My sisters are planning something for Nazriya. A small wedding ragging will be there for sure. The functions will go on for a week. Fahadh and I never shared a brother-brother relationship, we are more like friends. We have mutual friends. It is a similar relationship with Nazriya too. She is so positive. I was very tensed the day before the release of my film. So she organised a small surprise party and I felt a bit relaxed.
Nazriya’s family and my family had booked tickets to watch the film on the first day of release. Unfortunately, Fahadh met with an accident and we had to cancel the plan. Nazriya watched the film, and said I have done a fantastic job. Till now I used to be the youngest in my family, now I am happy to get a younger sister.